A charity shop shopper was left heartbroken after discovering a gut-wrenching note hidden inside a second-hand purse while browsing for bargains.
The find made her stop and think about the people who donate their old belongings to charity shops. Browsing a charity shop is always a bit of a lucky dip, with donated items often hiding unexpected surprises. But one shopper got far more than she bargained for after discovering a heartbreaking note tucked inside a second-hand handbag.
Shopper Shares Note on Reddit
She shared the upsetting message on Reddit and wrote: "Looks to be a journal entry or grief exercise? I hope whoever wrote this doing okay now." The note, dated December 16, 2008, shared how the writer visited the coast and found three golf balls while there. It goes on to detail how they subsequently went into town to buy "lots of stuff" before their emotions got the better of them and they started to weep.
While the customer who found the $11 (£8) handbag decided against buying it, she wishes the individual who contributed it received the help they required.
Reddit Users React
Reacting to the post, one user wrote: "Grief is a hard moment in time to encounter. At times we are stuck in that moment in time a bit longer than we should [be]."
Another user added: "Could it be a rough draft of a poem or a song maybe? I don't know because I can't exactly see what is written on the letter, so that's my guess."
A third user said: "Sounds like she had a soul cleansing day."
One further user commented: "This sounds like a widow dealing with grief. Hope she's better now."
Another user reflected: "Lovely and heartfelt. I would hold onto that, probably in a frame. We're all there at some point. I recently lost my parents 13 months apart. My mum lost hers at a very young age three months apart."
Journaling and Grief
Recording your emotions in a journal can assist in processing grief in various ways - whether or not you return to read what you've written.
According to the Grief Recovery Center: "It can be a place for you to write down things you don't want to forget about the person you're grieving."
You can write letters to them, even though they can't read them. Journaling can help you preserve the memory of your loved one.
"It can also be beneficial to consider that we are mortal beings, especially when dealing with loss."
This isn't to say that your journaling time should be focused on death and dying by any means.
"However, research has shown that considering the fact that we are inevitably going to die not only helps us get over the fear of death, but it can also help us be inspired to make the most of the time we do have in life."
"Thinking about death a lot might sound macabre, but it can help make death less scary and unknowable."
